Metro Atlanta Workshop Develops Program to Build Sustainable Employment for People with Disabilities
Written by Tianna Faulkner on .
September 25, 2024 (Atlanta, GA) - Woodright Industries and Shaw Industries, Group, Inc. have collaborated to develop a workforce through Project Search, a program that helps people with disabilities find and secure completely paid employment, proving that people with disabilities can maintain jobs in the workforce. Woodright Industries phased out the 14(C) certificate within the past six years, an antiquated practice that allows organizations to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage.
Although Woodright Industries has been given the option to renew their certificate and continue to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage, the workshop has closed and the people with disabilities will be supported to pursue fairly paid employment opportunities in their communities through the Project Search program. Currently, there are seven, what the program calls, interns in the training program, where the individuals go through a rigorous training to prepare them for employment in the workforce. Training tactics include interview preparation and identifying the individuals’ interests and area of specialties.
“Woodright [Industries] has done more job placement work, which began with two to three placements, to boost and improve competitive and supportive employment,” said Sonja J. Law, MS, DDP and Director/Behavioral Specialist at Woodright Industries. “Employment sites include the local movie theater, Barnsley Gardens, and Texas Roadhouse. The people we serve are just like you and me and I want more for them verses them being individuals who only make $0.25 an hour. Everyone at Woodright Industries is person centered. We match the individuals in the program with jobs that match their interests and skill sets.”
Under 14(c) certificates people with disabilities work in ‘sheltered workshops’ making “widgets” or “pieces,” putting screws into bags or putting together boxes. The work is repetitive, people are paid per the amount of output they make, and typically have never been given the chance to pursue a career that is based on their own interests. These individuals who work in the workshops have a wide range of disabilities.
“There are Georgians with very significant disabilities who, with the right support, have built meaningful careers and have earned competitive wages,” said D’Arcy Robb, GCDD Executive Director. The key is you have to base the person’s career on their talents, gifts and inclinations. Some people may not work traditional hours or may work for themselves. 14(c) makes no sense, because it’s based on the idea of everyone doing one of a few tasks. What if a person wants to work in music, or with children, or plants, or in an office? All Georgians with or without disabilities deserve to build careers. And the evidence clearly shows that they can.”
Currently, there are eight disability service providers in Georgia that still use the 14(c) certificate, which pays about 245 people less than minimum wage. In 2001 there were 80 organizations in Georgia using the 14c rule. To date, 16 states have banned the 14(c) completely, with 34 states still using it.
The Department of Labor administers the 14(c) certificates, but they know that many people today think 14(c) is no longer a good idea. Now the agency is revising the rules around this law. This September, The United States Department of Labor is expected to announce a new rule around 14(c). GCDD and Advancing Employment are patiently waiting to know more about those details.
“Paying someone minimum wage for their work is not radical, it’s an ethical issue, an economic issue, and a fairness issue. Abuses have been rampant for years under the 14(c) program and Georgia has had three high-profile cases. Its’ time to turn the page on a law that’s 85 years old,” said Doug Crandell, Public Service Faculty, Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD).
Many individuals with disabilities receive supplementary security income (SSI) based on the criteria that they have less than $2,000 in assets. However, there are ways around the $2,000 SSI asset limit that are already established. Many Georgians with disabilities use ABLE or Special Needs Trusts that allow them to save beyond $2,000 and maintain SSI eligibility. Ending 14c will not impact social security, Medicaid/Medicare benefits, or ABLE accounts. If the few hundred Georgians with disabilities currently earning subminimum wage continue working at minimum wage or higher, their incomes will go up, but their benefits eligibility will not change unless their ABLE account exceeds $100,000, in which case SSI is suspended but Medicaid remains intact.
For more information about the 14(c) and supportive employment, visit https://www.advancingemployment.com/competitveintegratedemployment.
Woodright Industries is the host site for Project Search in Cartersville, Georgia. Shaw is the business site for Project Search. Project Search was formerly funded by GCDD but has been transferred to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) to manage due to GVRA having more sufficient funding to support the program. For more information about Project Search, click the link below:
https://gcdd.org/current-projects/systems-change
About the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities: The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is the State's leader in advancing public policy on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities. Its mission is to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for the wide spectrum of diverse people/persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play, and worship in their communities. www.gcdd.org
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